For five days in mid-March, music from all around the world invades Austin at one of the largest music festivals and conferences in the industry.

According to the Associated Press, the 23rd annual South by Southwest festival features 1,900 bands playing on more than 80 stages, including names like Kanye West and Metallica and indie music heavy-weights, The Decemberists, the Hold Steady, M. Ward and Andrew Bird.

Along with the big-name players, SXSW is also a place to be discovered. Music bursts from every venue, spilling out onto the streets.

Along with people attending concerts, street musicians dole out free CDs and T-shirts struggling to get heard. A marching band wearing crazy costumes walks up and down the street to attract people to its show.

People wearing cardboard "free hug" signs are looking to get a little affection from the mass of people.

Fliers, key chains and stickers line the streets after being carelessly discarded by their owners. You can't walk a step without having some kind of pamphlet shoved in your face.

The majority of shows take place on Sixth Street, spanning from Red River Street to Congress Avenue.

The streets are filled with people waiting in line for a show or satisfying cravings for bratwurst, funnel cakes and even cupcakes at vendor trucks parked every few feet.

The majority of the action is centered downtown, but SXSW is spread all over the city.

Although the Austin economy might enjoy the large crowds and the span of the festival, Ashley Sullivan, a Georgetown resident and festival attendee, said some of her friends wish for a smaller, more exclusive experience.

"Some of my friends have told me that they are having fun but they feel like every year (SXSW) becomes too publicized," she said. "They miss the low-key aspect of it."

Waco resident and festival attendee Chris Burch said the festival's span can be both negative and positive.

"It's really spread out, so that can cause problems, but it can be interesting too," he said. "You do a lot of walking -- my feet are very tired; but it's cool to wander back and forth and see so many great bands."

Most of the venues are on the west side of Interstate 35 but there are the occasional trips to the east side.

One venue, Club 1808, is a long walk or a significant cab ride from downtown.

Distance from downtown is not the only thing that varies at SXSW. Some venues like Waterloo Park or Auditorium Shores Stage at Lady Bird Lake can hold thousands of people, where other venues can barely squeeze 20 people in an enclosed space.

The unique quality of some of the smaller venues, like Club 1808, is the proximity of the crowd to the bands. At a Wavves show, a two-man pop band from California, the band's set was interrupted when a fan got on stage and took the mike from Nathan Williams. This unexpected interruption made that particular Wavves show one of a kind.

This type of spontaneity is something to expect from SXSW. While walking down the street, I jumped into a venue for the last two songs of a Fastball performance.

SXSW may be all about the music for the fans, but it's a marathon for the performers. The Vivian Girls, a punk band from Brooklyn, New York, said they played 18 shows in three days.

Burch said he likes to see the effort every band puts into its show.

"When we saw Preacher Pete, a really good underground hip-hop artist, it was his third show that day," Burch said. "He was losing his voice by the end of the set but he was still giving it everything he had."

Bands push beyond their physical boundaries, giving fans something to remember from their show.

One highlight for me was Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, a rock band from Ontario. The band really made an effort to be involved with the audience's listening experience and every song was jam-packed with energy.

Playing only three shows over the festival, guitarist and lead vocalist Grainger said he preferred it that way.

"I kind of wanted to play a ton (of shows) but you get really stressed out when you play too much in one of those situations," he said.

During the Saturday performances at Club de Ville, the guitarist and keyboardist's girlfriend ribbon danced during the show while Grainger played and sang from the audience to end the performance.

Grainger said that kind of interaction with the audience doesn't always happen, but he likes including his audience in the live experience of his shows.

"There's a line between entertainment and including someone in an experience," he said. "It's not huge to stand there, in the audience, singing; but it shatters the line between audience and the performer. It's not always possible and it's not always fun or cool to do. But, when things like that happen, they are a lot of fun for myself and the people involved."

Everyone in the Club de Ville audience of Grainger's show couldn't keep from moving to the band's up-tempo melodies.

Overall, Grainger said he felt the band's reception from SXSW was a good one.

SXSW brings together great bands, mediocre acts and crazy characters from all over world. I can't wait to see who shows up next year.